Slice-selective Zero Echo Time imaging of ultra-short 𝛵2 tissues

Here we provide an MRI sequence which allows slice selection and 2D-imaging of hard tissues with T2 as short as 275 μs within clinically acceptable scan times even at fields as low as 260 mT. Our proposed sequence combines slice selection through spin-locking, which suffers a much more benign decay (T1ρ>>T2), and the fastest imaging sequence (ZTE), providing a new and robust tool for slice selection of the shortest-lived tissue signals in the body.